I saw a diamondback rattlesnake today – in the wild. Just awesome!
I plan to fly out of Phoenix for New Orleans (I’ve changed my plans to fly to New York) on Friday so decide to duck down to Tucson for two nights before I go. Tucson is about a two-hour bus ride south of Phoenix. Fortunately I will be staying with a friend of a friend there. Don has lived in Tucson for 24 years and is now retired after a variety of careers including maths teacher, hospital administrator and accountant. He picks me up from the bus station and takes me directly to a local nature park. We are still in the Sonora Desert as is Phoenix. There are spectacular rugged mountainous ridges all around and there are thunder storms about. It has rained and the air is fresh and clean and the late afternoon light is doing spectacular things with the huge thunder clouds and rain. This nature park is on the edge of town and has many walking trails popular with the locals. This part of the Sonora Desert around Tucson is just stunning and has been described as some of the most beautiful desert habitat in the world and walking through here for my first time, it would be hard to find anything better. And this afternoon’s weather display provides a backdrop that amplifies the experience. The variety of vegetation is impressive and those classic desert cactus, I now know are Saguaro (pronounced sowaro), are everywhere. But they are far from being alone. Other cactus varieties are here, with trees, shrubs and grasses of all shapes and sizes. And of course the animals. As well as the beautiful rattlesnake we also spot a jack rabbit but then there are all the ones we don’t see. They talk of coyotes, bobcats, deer and even black bears coming into the outer suburbs. This desert is rich with life.
Just down the road from this nature park is a ‘dude ranch’ where you can get your giddy-up fix in style. It’s quite a sophisticated setup with comfortable accommodation onsite. A horse ride through the desert does have it’s appeal, even for me whose horse-riding days are best forgotten!
angusmccoll 